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Description

Welcome to Apple Grove, Ohio (pop. 597), a small town with a big heart.

Caitlin Mulcahy loves her family. She really does. But sometimes they can drive her to her last shred

...

Welcome to Apple Grove, Ohio (pop. 597), a small town with a big heart.

Caitlin Mulcahy loves her family. She really does. But sometimes they can drive her to her last shred of sanity—from her dad ("I'm not meddling, I just want what's best for you") to her eight-months-pregnant older sister to her younger sister, who will do just about anything to avoid real work. Cait just needs to get away, even if for only an hour.

When she sees someone in need of help on the side of the road, of course she's going to pull over. She might even be able to fix his engine—after all, the Mulcahy family is a handy bunch. She's not expecting that former Navy medic Jack Gannon and a little black puppy named Jameson will be the ones who end up rescuing in her.

About the Author

C.H. Admirand

C.H. Admirand was born in Aiken, South Carolina, but grew up in New Jersey. She has published nine bestselling novels. The Secret Life of Cowboys was her first series for Sourcebooks. She lives with her husband, who is the inspiration for all of her heroes’ best traits, in New Jersey.

Excerpt

Dr. Jack Gannon closed the door to his office, looked down Main Street, and smiled. Spring in his hometown meant green and growing—nothing like the Middle East desert pepp

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Chapter 1

Dr. Jack Gannon closed the door to his office, looked down Main Street, and smiled. Spring in his hometown meant green and growing—nothing like the Middle East desert peppered with hiding places where insurgents had lain in wait. He shoved those thoughts, and his years as a navy corpsman, back into the tiny box he’d visualized so many times while lying helpless in that hospital bed.

After all the stories he’d heard from this father, Jack had been the first one in the navy recruiter’s line all those years ago. But none of the places he’d traveled as a hospital corpsman held a candle to the town he called home—Apple Grove.

A soft breeze caressed his face, a loving touch and gentle reminder that he had so much to be grateful for. The marine he’d been struggling to save when they’d been hit filled his mind. Struggling to bury the memory, and the guilt, deep, he focused on one of the lessons he’d learned early in life: There is a time and purpose for everything. He remembered floundering when he’d woken up strapped to a gurney as he was rushed into surgery. A year and a half later, he’d been able to stand, to walk and was alive—applying his experience in the navy toward college credits and then med school—he had a life…choices…unlike the marine he’d tried to save but couldn’t.

Growing up in a town where farming was a way of life for most, he’d come to appreciate that spring was the season for growth. Sinking his shriveled roots back into the warm, rich, life-giving soil of his hometown just might satisfy his need for personal growth. No one in town knew the depth of his pain or the extent of his injuries. To them, he was simply old Doc Gannon’s son coming home to pick up where his father left off, taking care of the people in this tight-knit community. If he could continue to keep a lid on the roiling pot of guilt, pain, and uncertainty, no one would ever have to know the truth—that he should have been the one to die.

The wind shifted, clearing his head of the thoughts haunting him. He caught the fleeting, teasing scent of fresh-baked pies wafting toward him from the open door of the Apple Grove Diner. Glad to redirect his thoughts, he wondered if the diner was still gossip central. It had been for as far back as he could remember—the latest news, good and bad, served up with a man-sized slice of pie, a hot cup of coffee, and a smile. “God, I really missed this place.”

As a teenager, he couldn’t wait to leave; now he took the time to admire Miss Trudi’s flowers, a riot of color circling the gazebo in the town square, the focal point of countless Founder’s Day Picnic speeches. One of Apple Grove’s more outspoken octogenarians, Miss Trudi was a marvel. How she managed to do so much at her age amazed him. He’d have to stop by and check up on her this afternoon…without letting her know what he was up to, or else she’d never let him hear the end of it. A more capable woman over the age of eighty simply didn’t exist.

The breeze rustled the broad green leaves of the sugar maples lining Main Street. The trees graced the sidewalk and shaded his steps from the front door of his office clear down to the sheriff’s at the other end of the street. He’d make a point to see Mitch, Sheriff Wallace, today as well. His day was rapidly filling up with people he needed to see, not all of them for medical reasons. He had to start that list—which was the main thing he intended to discuss with Mitch—of some of the older people in town and schedule routine check-ins—even if they were likely to be crabby about it. But in Apple Grove, people always wanted to help.

The tantalizing scent of baked goods was stronger as he drew closer to the diner. Stepping through the open door to the diner, he paused at the threshold, drawing in another deep breath. Freshly brewed coffee and the scent of just-baked sweetness beckoned to him. Jack smiled, knowing it would be a McCormack who would greet him.

“Uneventful,” he said, smiling at the older of the two sisters. “Just the way I like it.”

“How many broken hearts did you leave behind, Doc?” Peggy’s sister Kate asked. When he just shook his head, she added, “There are plenty of women in town who’d be more than happy to take the edge off…if you know what I mean.”

“Don’t scare him off when he’s only just arrived,” Peggy told her. “We haven’t gotten any news from him yet.” Making a shooing motion toward the coffeepot, she smiled at Jack and told her sister, “Grab some coffee for Doc.”

Jack hesitated, wondering if he should leave now, before they picked his brain clean, or if he should stick around for a slice of heaven on a plate.

“What?” Kate frowned, reaching for the coffeepot and turning back around. “How many women have you heard make that offer while waiting for our hometown hero to return?”

Jack raised his eyes to the ceiling and fought his embarrassment. He should come back later, when it was busy and he could be ignored.

Kate motioned for him to sit down while Peggy sliced a piece of pie for him. A stronger man than him could forgo the flaky confection calling his name. Where pie was concerned, especially from the Apple Grove Diner, he had no choice. He gave in, had to have that pie.

“Thanks.” Taking a seat at the counter, he shifted on the vinyl stool until he was comfortable—his leg ached—they’d be getting rain by nightfall. Doing his best to ignore the pain, he looked up when a fragrant cup of coffee and a megaslice of pie appeared like magic.

“Did you know one of the hardest parts of leaving town was missing Grandma McCormack’s pies? You can’t get service or baked goods like this where I’ve been.” He took a bite and sighed in pleasure.

“It’s been a while in between your visits home,” Kate said while he ate. “Peggy and I were trying to remember how long but can’t.”

With his mouth filled with the decadent combination of lemony-flavored custard and delectable meringue topping, he couldn’t answer right away, so he chewed, swallowed, and said, “A while.”

Forking up another bite, he gave in and let himself enjoy the flavors dancing on his tongue. It had been quiet for a few minutes before he realized the sisters were watching him closely. He lifted a forkful of pie and said, “Delicious.”

“Thanks,” Peggy said. “So, how many years were you in the navy?”

Blowing across the surface to cool his coffee, he paused and glanced up. “Almost ten.”

“And then you went to school,” Peggy added.

He took a sip of his coffee and said, “I had earned plenty of college credits, so finishing up and going to med school didn’t take as long as I’d thought it would.”

“Do you miss it?” Kate asked.

“The navy or med school?” he asked.

“The navy,” Kate said.

“Why couldn’t you spend the last two years doing rehab here?” Peggy wanted to know. “Couldn’t your dad have taken care of you?”

Jack nearly snorted up that last mouthful of fragrant brew. Had he really thought they wouldn’t touch on the parts of his military career he hadn’t wanted to discuss? This was one aspect he hadn’t missed—being grilled so that the midmorning crowd coming into the diner would have fresh fodder to pass along.

He didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe if he told them something no one had heard before, the sisters would be satisfied for the next little bit.

Jack met Peggy’s gaze and said, “They didn’t think I’d survive the plane ride home.” While the reality of his comment hit home, he looked at Kate and hoped to distract her by saying, “My mom and dad wanted me to say hello for them and to ask how your parents and grandmother are doing.”

Peggy was the first to recover from the gossip-worthy bomb he’d dropped. She grasped his hand and squeezed it tight before letting it go. Her nod told him that she’d let the subject drop. “Are your parents really going to buy that house in Florida?” Peggy asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to keep renting? They might change their mind during another wicked hurricane season.”

“Mornin’, Miss Kate. Mornin’, Miss Peggy.” Deputy Jones walked into the diner and smiled at the sisters before turning to look at Jack. “Morning, Doc. Heard you’re meeting with the sheriff later today. It’s a good thing you’re doing for Apple Grove.”

Jack shrugged. “When Mitch was filling me in on the latest emergencies at the office, we got to talking about how to avoid some of them. We think it’ll work.”

Deputy Jones was fighting not to smile when he added, “We may catch some grief from the people on that list.”

Jack agreed. “Most of them won’t mind, but there are a few independent curmudgeons who will.”

“What have you two cooked up?” Kate asked.

“You have been busy,” Peggy said, at the same time, handing a paper bag and two coffees to go to the sheriff’s right-hand man.

“Duty calls. Thank you, ladies,” Deputy Jones said with a wave and was gone.

Kate sighed as she watched him leave, while Peggy waited for Jack to answer.

Jack finished his pie and the rest of his coffee. “My dad planted the idea. Mitch called me right after I hung up with my dad, and between the two of us, we figured out a way to implement it.”

He reached into his pocket, but before he could take his wallet—or his hand—out of his pocket, Peggy patted his arm and said, “It’s on the house.”

“You won’t make any money if you keep giving away what people will pay good money for,” he warned her.

Peggy and Kate smiled, and he knew there was one more reason why people in town flocked to the diner—the friendly smiles and caring that lay beneath the sisters’ need to spread the news.

“Now you sound just like him,” Peggy said.

He tilted his head to one side and asked, “Who?”

They laughed, drawing the attention of a few early morning regulars. “Old Doc Gannon,” Kate told him.

He smiled. “So what does that make me?”

Kate grinned. “Young Doc Gannon.”

“Hey, wait!” Peggy said, as Jack got up. “Aren’t you going to tell us who is on that list?”

He shrugged. “I thought I gave you enough to talk about this morning.”

His dad had told him of his search and finally finding a replacement. Had Doc known the physician wouldn’t stay, leaving the job waiting for Jack when he was ready for it? Knowing his father, he probably had.

“None of us was surprised when his replacement moved on to a hospital in Columbus.”

“It was touch and go there for a while when he first left,” Peggy admitted.

“The hardest part for some of our older residents was trying to find a way to get to the clinic over in Newark,” Kate told him. “Waiting for you to get back, we had ourselves a meeting and were hoping you’d continue one of your dad’s habits,” Kate said.

“Which one?”

“Making house calls for folks like Mr. Weatherbee, Mrs. Winter, and our grandma,” Peggy answered. “It would be a godsend if you could.”

Drawn by the worry in Peggy’s voice, he turned back around. “I plan to add house calls to my weekly schedule.”

She sniffed and nodded. “Thanks, Doc.”

“Welcome home,” Kate called out, as he walked through the door.

“Good to be back.” And he meant it. He had a practice with patients anxious for him to get started, a plan he and the sheriff wanted to implement to minimize emergencies, and had had his first taste of home-cooked heaven. Maybe it wouldn’t take as long to find the balance that had been missing in his life during the long road to recovery. Thinking about the scheduled appointments for the day, he didn’t hear Peggy follow him out the door.

He had just passed the Mulcahys’ shop when he heard her say, “We’re trying our hand at beignets tomorrow.”

He turned and waved. “I love beignets.”

Thinking about the lightly fried doughy goodness sprinkled with powdered sugar, he crossed Dog Hollow Road. When he walked by the Apple Grove Gazette, Rhonda was waving at him from behind the antique printing press. He waved back. It felt good to be in a place where people knew him…he had done the right thing coming back to stay when his dad had retired.

He hoped the folks in town would be able to trust the younger Doc Gannon the same way they’d trusted his dad. Walking up the flagstone steps to his office, he was ready to greet the day. Having gone over his father’s most active patient files the night before, he was confident he’d be ready for whatever medical troubles were in store for him.

“Morning, Doc,” Mrs. Sweeney, his receptionist, called out.

“Morning, Mrs. Sweeney. How’s your cousin doing?”

“Holding his own, Doc.” She sighed. “If only he wasn’t so stubborn and one of his boys would move back home.”

Jack had already added her cousin to the list of those who were on the Apple Grove Health Watch. “We’ll keep doing what we can to make sure he’s taken care of.”

Jack knew that the success of his father’s practice had been because it was based on mutual trust between doctor and patient. Jack planned to work hard to establish a similar trust with the townsfolk. He’d start with his high school lab partner’s father.

“What kind of pie did you have?” Joe asked.

Jack laughed. “Buttermilk. I haven’t had any since the last time I was home on leave.” Jack ushered Joe into one of the examining rooms. “Have a seat while I pull up your chart.” He turned on his computer, donned his white lab coat, and placed his stethoscope around his neck—he didn’t miss the flak jacket.

Jack slipped the blood pressure cuff on Joe’s arm and waited for the digital numbers to register.

Joe chuckled. “There was a time when your father used to pump up the cuff and use his stethoscope to check my pressure. Times sure have changed.”

Jack nodded. “But one thing remains the same: my dad and I care deeply about—and enjoy caring for—the good people of Apple Grove.” While he made notes to Joe’s chart, he asked, “Speaking of good people, how is Meg feeling?”

If Joe’s smile was any indication, she was doing just fine. “She’s gone from grim and green to glowing.”

Jack and Meg had been friends—treating each other like siblings—since they toddled together at their first Founder’s Day Picnic.

He smiled and said, “I’ve heard from my parents that she’s an amazing mom and that those twins of hers are keeping her busy. If you need me to butt heads with Meg about going back to her regular work schedule, you just let me know.”

Joe frowned. “She’s exhausted. But Dan’s keeping an eye on her, especially now that those little scamps of theirs are running her ragged and getting into everything.” He waited a moment or so before adding, “Dan Eagan’s a good man.” Joe paused and said, “If you want to keep up with your PT, Dan usually jogs every morning. I go with him a few times a week. Give him a call.”

Jack chuckled. “Hmmm, the patient giving the doctor advice, but I could use a jogging partner.” He cleared his throat and added, “My dad had good things to say about him and how easily he seemed to fit in from the moment he arrived. Mom couldn’t say enough about the way he rescued Charlie Doyle and Tommy Hawkins off the railroad trestle bridge.”

Joe looked up at Jack and asked, “Do you believe in fate?”

“With our Irish heritage, you need to ask?” Joe was still laughing when Jack said, “My dad wanted me to make sure you are getting in your daily walks and following the diet he gave you.” Joe’s heart attack scare a few years ago had Jack wishing he could have gone home to see for himself that his childhood friend’s father was recovering, but he was in the middle of his internship at the time.

The older man hesitated. “Not a big fan of green things.”

Jack tried to keep a straight face. He could take the green stuff or leave it, but he was at least twenty years younger and thirty pounds lighter than Joe.

“Start small and add dressing if it’s salad or a little bit of peanut butter if it’s celery.” When Joe frowned, Jack added, “I could insist on a stricter diet, higher in vegetables and fish—”

“I’ll give it another try, but I’m not promising anything.”

“Do it for yourself and your daughters, Joe,” Jack said quietly. “By the way, how are Cait and Grace doing?” He hadn’t seen either of Meg’s younger sisters in years. Cait had been eleven and Grace ten when he’d joined the navy, so if he had seen either one of them when he’d been on leave, he didn’t remember.

Joe snorted with laughter, a man’s man through and through. A former coast guardsman, he still ran a few times a week and wore his graying hair in military fashion: high and tight. “Driving me nuts, trying to keep me from my threat of running our handyman business again.”

“Mom said that you’d retired and turned everything over to your girls.” Jack pointed the tongue depressor at Joe. “Say ah.”

Joe did and Jack nodded. “Looks normal. I can have a talk with your daughters, but I might not recognize them if they walked past me on the sidewalk.”

Joe chuckled. “They’re hard to miss. Almost half a foot taller than Meg—close to five feet eight—and both strawberry blonde, like their mother, with green eyes.”

Jack sat down on his rolling stool and used his feet to push off so he was back in front of his laptop. He finished entering data and turned back around. “Any more weddings on the horizon?”

Joe sighed. “I had high hopes for one young man Cait had been dating, but she’s been so busy picking up the slack, what with Meg’s morning sickness, that she hasn’t had the time or energy to date. Grace hasn’t brought anyone around to meet me, but I know she’s seeing someone from out of town.”

Jack noticed Joe’s worry lines when he was talking about his daughters and wanted to do something to erase them. As a physician, he would always treat his patients to the best of his ability, but here in Apple Grove, there was much more to be considered. With Joe Mulcahy, it was the link to his childhood friend and the need to help her father. “If I learned anything during my years in the navy, I learned that life and insurgents come at you with both barrels—” He buried the ever-present turmoil just bubbling below the surface to a controllable level and finished what he’d wanted to say. “Life is too short.”

He thought of the marine that bled out while he had worked in earnest to stitch the young man back together under fire. If he didn’t close the lid to the box where he kept those memories, he’d be up all night, positive he could hear the whistling sound of the explosive before it hit, feel the white-hot agonizing pain of having his leg shatter while bits of shrapnel imbedded into his flesh.

“Doc, are you all right?”

Jack snapped back to attention in time to see the look of concern on the older man’s face. “Yeah…um…yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

Reviews

“The writing is light and real. All in all this a nice, warm read. ” - Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf

“Heartwarming... A witty, sexy contem...

“The writing is light and real. All in all this a nice, warm read. ” - Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf

“Heartwarming... A witty, sexy contemporary small town romance that is sure to touch the hearts of her readers.” - Romance Junkies

“An adorable small town story... ” - Lily Pond Reads

“Admirand's command of setting and place is exceptional. With small town charm and a healthy dose of romance, One Day in Apple Grove may be just what the doctor ordered!” - Debbie’s Book Bag

“A story with good people, good hearts, and a loving romance to make you feel wonderful that you were a part of it.” - Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

“A very cute story about a lovely couple and a meddling town.” - Urban Girl Reader

“A compelling love story... C.H. Admirand has written this sweet love tale beautifully from beginning to end.” - My Book Addiction and More

“A must read for any fan of Susan Wiggs, Susan Mallery, Sherryl Woods, Robyn Carr, etc. Her small town of Apple Grove is colorful and full of life. The characters make you think, laugh and cry.” - Romancing the Book

“ Down-to-earth, comforting, and filled with Midwestern charm... This series will appeal to fans of Robyn Carr, Susan Wiggs, and Brenda Novak.” - Library Journal

“A sweet but spicy addition to a heartwarming series that fans of homespun novels are sure to enjoy. ” - Book Reviews and More by Kathy

“Sweet and passionate, poignant and rich... ” - Fresh Fiction

“A special treat of a romance that’s not to be missed.” - Long and Short Reviews

“A complete charming and endearing story, One Day in Apple Grove gives us lovable wounded characters and an adorable puppy to boot. Pleasurable, relaxing and a happy ending, this story was the perfect book for a comforting hometown read.” - Tome Tender

“A sweet and gentle love story with a wounded hero and a stubborn but compassionate heroine. Be sure to have a tissue read” - Cayocosta72 Book Reviews

“I enjoyed this sweet charming small town romance.” - This That and the Other Thing

“This warm hearted sweet romance is well balanced and keeps you involved from the first page to the last. You’ll almost feel as if you are part of the community. Reviewer Top Pick ” - Night Owl Reviews

“A great romance novel. I would recommend this to anyone who like a fast read and a good-hearted romantic story.” - Novels Alive

“If you are a fan of Debbie Macomber, Fern Michaels and the like, then C.H. Admirand will no doubt soon be amongst your favorite authors as well.” - Readful Things Blog

“Admirand writes another winner with her second stop in Apple Grove. With a perfect backdrop of small-town America, this book is full of quirky characters and plenty of heart. 4 ½ Stars” - RT Book Reviews